Swiss and New York Startups Join Forces on Urban Sustainability

Over the past few years, New York has seen the launch of numerous climate initiatives supported by local government agencies, accelerators, and the private sector, reinforcing its role as a leading hub for urban tech innovation. Having established itself as a global player, the city continues to push towards decarbonizing its building stock.

Swissnex and Impact Hub New York Metropolitan Area contribute to this effort by fostering Swiss-US collaboration in urban tech. The Sustainable Cities Lab kicks off with a two-week virtual bootcamp for the five Swiss participants, which is part of Swissnex’s broader startup support partnership with the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse. During the bootcamp, the Swiss startups will get an opportunity to better understand the fundamentals of the US market before they arrive.

From October 24-28, the Swiss and US founders will come together for in-person sessions in New York City, where they will get the chance to connect with and get feedback from key experts, exchange knowledge in peer-learning sessions, and pitch to leading urban tech investors and accelerators. During their week in New York, they will also participate in the SCNY UrbanTech Summit organized by CIV:LAB in partnership with Cornell Tech.

The following Swiss startups will be participating in the program:

Scandens | Zurich | Building Technology. Scandens provides software solutions (SaaS) for institutions that own, finance, or plan buildings to measure and understand their climate impact and take profitable action towards the 1.5°C climate target.

4QT | Zurich | Mobility. For utility vehicle manufacturers, 4QT offers electrified powertrains that cut emissions and boost fuel economy, responding to the complex mobility requirements that more and more dense urban centers are facing.

ARVE.swiss | Bern | Building Technology. ARVE.swiss provides trusted air data for commercial buildings, allowing operators to optimize them for human health, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency, and significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

Enerdrape | Lausanne | Building Technology. Enerdrape is developing the world’s first thermal panel that turns underground environments such as parking garages and tunnels into renewable heat sources for the heating and cooling needs of buildings.

Shematic | Geneva | Mobility. Shematic develops and manufactures efficient powertrains for lightweight electric vehicles. Since September 2022, their last-mile delivery cargobike “Yakbike” is on the market using their powertrain technology.

The US startups will be announced soon.

(RAN)